The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-11-21
No FAITH IN FAITH CURES
DIR. BACcN ADVOCATES THE USE
OF A PHYSICIANS SKILL.

Meant as Rebuke-Faith Hospitals
and Faith Boarding Houses of Equal
Value.
DR.. Leonard Woolsey Bacon preached last
night to large congregation upon the sub
ject of The Faith Cure. He took his text
from the epistle general Of st. James y, IS.
ID and 10
Is there any among you afflicted let him
pray rs any merry? let him sing psalms.
Is any sick among you? let him call for the
elders OF the church and let them pray over
him, amounting him with oil in the name OF the
Lord
And the prayer Of faith shall the sick.
and the Lord shall raise him up, and # he have
committed sins they shall be forgiven hInl.
These few verses, said DR., Bacon, have
been the centre OF no small amount OF IN
tereSt at different periods. They have been
the subject Of much study, and have re-
ceived many different interpretations.
They are taken as the authority for extreme
JUNCTION, a right not To be used until the
last moment when no hope of recovery Re
mains TO the sufferer 1t is not right to IN
terpret them thus, for it is evident that
they were intended TO hold out hope Of re
covery to the sick. There are other inter
pretaticns but il was not necessary to
enlarge upon them. Life is too short TO
waste time and argument in converting
people from erroneous doctrines which they
do not believe. There is too much of that
kind of preaching, anyhow.
TWO DOLLARS A PRAYER.
There is a class of people, however, and it
seems TO be increasing in numbers, which
cites the verses as authority for what they
term the faith cure. They held cOnven-
Sion in Philadelphia two years ago,
and the doctor remembered how
they prayed for the healing Of the sick and
suffering. They have established faith cure
hospitals, ana intrmarieS III several places,
and out West there are professors OF the
faith cure who pray at tile rate of ~ prayer
with liberal discount to ministers families.
One Of these professors came to Savannah,
and said he would settle here If he met
with any encouragement. The doctor
did not encourage him. The
faith cure disciples; claim that
they are shining examples Of the simple
faith Of the Apostles. That they are so, DR..
Bacon denied. They are not he said, as
class ordinarily good people. They are gen
orally bloated end diseased with spiritual
conceit, and il is not true that they are
better men, or truer Christians than those
who humbly pray to God to forgive them
their sins, and send for a physician when
they are sick.
THE AGE or MIRACLES.
The doctrine that the sick should refrain
from sending for a physician ana rely only
on prayer is founded upon the text from st.
James, but the object of the sermon was to
show that the text gave no countenance to
6hat doctrine, and, III fact rebuked it. The
DISCIPLES Of the faith cure dispute the as
sumption that the age of miracles is past
The age of miracles is past Several ages
of miracles are past. The age OF Moses was
an age of mircles, and the age of Christ was
an age of miracles, and one age of miracles
has succeeded another. but the doctrine of
the faith cure cannot be sustained by the
-s,alae fx,,.
when the cures become common they cease
70 be miracles. The Bible does not record
frequent miracles. Miracles were resorted
to In great spiritual crises only, for if they
should become common they would no
longer be miracles. The fall of mamma
was miracle, but 1t was equally miracu-
lous when it ceased 70 fall when the children
of Israel passed over into the promised
land.
NOT A NEW DOCTRINE.
The gift Of healing was not classified as a
miraculous gift by the Church of Coriuth.
1t was put with the gift of teaching, the
gift Of governing the affairs of the church,
the gift of distributing aims, and such
Others. he denied that there was anything
miraculous in the faith cures. At the con
vention st Philadelphia he saw weak and
sickly girl borne in the arms
If her father to be healed
by prayers He would have rejoiced to have
heard that God had answered the prayers
Of those loving parents No doubt lie did
answer them, but he would have been glad
70 know THAT they were answered directly
as they had wished them to be, bat if he had
heard that that girl had enjoyed no inn
movement than from natural causes, he
would sCiil praise God, whose will Is worked
mt by natural causes.
The text does not read like "A new doc
tTine set forth for Christians to believe. No
reference is made by the Apostles TO such
practices as faith cures in the early church,
and 1t does look like new rite St james
was estabilS ing
THE USES OF OIL BY THE JEWS.
Amounting with oil is referred 10 In three
different connections: a. Using fragrant
oil on the head in The toilet, as an honor to
guests, and on the dead. ~ The sacred
and religious conservation by the use of oil
the names by which the Lord is known
Messiah and Christ--Inean only the anoint-
ed one. 81 The application ct oil to the
sex. In Isaiah there rs an alluslOu tn this
last use of oil. The man who was found
covered with fostering sores was said not to
have been Amounted with oil 1t had not
been used "a soften the sores. The
Good Samaritan Amounted the wounded
man with WINE and oil. and il was the Gus
tom il the time Of the Apostles to anoint
the sick with OIL. IL was u current prac-
tice among the Jews, and the question has
Deem TdlSeu " neither inc IhNslcllhS Ol lo-utlJ
have not gone astray in throwing aside the
nse Of oil in cases of sickness. a rubbing
down with oil completed the Roman bath
and it is doubtful whether the use in
this day of an oil and alkali compound
tor removing the natural ads has not been
the cause of characteristic diseases. The
amounting with oil that is recorded in
the Scripture has, however, no reference TO
the faith cure for oil is spoken of either as Il
perfume or a liniment.
REBUKE TO ENTHUSIASTS.
But what is the significance in the IN
structions "a send for the elders OF tue
churoht Many of thcm were skilled IN the
art Of healing, and the command we're TO
prevent the domestic practice of medi cine,
the use of neighbor's prescriptions and the
resort TO the nominations of heathon medi-
zine men. They were to send for the elders
who might be called The professional healers
Of the day and who We're probably main-
tanned by contributions in order that they
might study the art.
The test is clearly a rebuke to those
enthusiasts who neglect the commands
of God; who are hearers, but not doors
~ the word; who take on the show of re-
ligion. but keep not themselves unsDotted